This invention relates to cable seal locks. More particularly, it relates to cable seal locks having a body suitable for reuse.
Bulk and other storage and transportation compartments frequently require security mechanisms to preserve the integrity of the contents of the compartments. Often it is desirable to be aware of instances of unauthorized opening of or entry into such compartments. This is particularly true in those situations where theft or contamination of the contents of the compartments is otherwise difficult to ascertain. Such situations exist, for example, where the contents of the compartment is in bulk or infrequently inventoried, or where even small amounts of certain contaminants are unacceptable. Comprehensive testing for contaminants is usually impractical or prohibitively expensive.
Certain security devices, such as the ordinary padlock, usually do not provide an indicia of tampering. A successful thief or saboteur that defeats such a device can easily reaffix it or install a similar or duplicate device if the original was destroyed without leaving behind any indication of access.
Cable seal locks are security devices that can provide the sort of indication of unauthorized access that is often desirable. Cable seal locks are single use mechanisms. Each lock includes a body and a cable. Examples of such locks are found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,222,776; 5,353,003 and 5,582,447. Often, one end of the cable is attached to the body.
Typically, the free end of the cable is inserted into a passage of the lock body mechanism that allows entry of the cable into the body in one direction but does not allow removal of the cable in the other direction without extreme force. In the case where one end of the cable is attached to the body of the lock, inserting the cable into the passage results in a loop of cable, which can be formed through a hasp or similar device near the access closure of the compartment to be secured, such that to gain access to the compartment through the access closure, the cable must be cut.
Another form of cable lock involves a cable that is not attached to the body but that includes an abutment or head opposite the free end of the cable that prevents the cable from passing through the lock body. In this situation the cable acts as a latch pin or deadbolt that can be threaded through the hasp or similar device on the closure member and through the lock body passage. The cables of this type of cable seal lock also must be destroyed by cutting to gain access to the compartment.
The lock body of a cable seal lock can be labeled, painted or serially numbered for additional security.
When creating a seal with the cable seal lock, the cable is advantageously passed through the lock body passage so that a maximum amount of cable is passed through the passage and therefore, once the cable is cut to remove the seal from the protected closure a minimum amount of cable remains attached to the lock body or head. This prevents the seal from being remade with the same cable, which would defeat the purpose of the cable seal lock, and also ensures a tight closure involving minimal slack of the cable and therefore minimal freedom of movement of the components of the closure mechanism. Because the seal cannot be remade with the same cable, broken cable or missing or mis-numbered security devices provide evidence of opening of the access closure and possible entry into the compartment.
Where authorized entry is required, the cable must be cut. Once cut, the cable seal lock and the severed cable, which now can be removed from the lock, are discarded. Thus, while security protocols involving cable seal locks advantageously provide indicia of possible unauthorized access or entry into storage or transportation compartments, they disadvantageously involve significant cost owing to the disposable nature of the cable seal lock security devices.